Cuesta students will march in Sacramento
BY NICK POWELL
Two busloads of Cuesta College students and staff will join roughly 11,000 other protesters at the state capitol March 22 for a rally against cuts to California’s education system. Despite Cal Poly’s $12 million deficit last year and an overall drop in general funds for California State Universities of $450 million since 2006, the Mustangs will have no organized presence at the event because it takes place over their spring break and student support is lacking.
“It’s unfortunate they couldn’t find a day that works for campuses on the quarter system,” said Kelly Griggs, president of Cal Poly’s student government. “We haven’t heard much interest from our students.”
Griggs said Cal Poly’s administrators did a good job preparing for the budget cuts, minimizing the impacts on students. They initiated weekly furlough days for faculty, a 32 percent fee increase for students, and instituted a 9.5 percent reduction in enrollment.
Added expenses and tighter admissions might not ruffle current Cal Poly students, but for the generally less advantaged community college kids hoping to transfer, the situation is grim.
“We have had to cancel thousands of courses and drastically reduce tutoring and counseling services that students need to be successful,” said Reid Milburn, president of the Student Senate for California Community Colleges. “The average time a student spends at a ‘two-year’ community college is now six years for standard transfer tracks.”